Estradiol-dependent gene expression profile in the amygdala of ovariectomized SHRs

Pre-menopausal women exhibit a lower arterial pressure (AP), a lower sympathetic outflow and a greater baroreceptor reflex than age-matched men. However, AP and subsequent cardiovascular diseases dramatically increases in post-menopausal women. Estrogen level is believed to play a role in the regulation of the basal blood pressure, emotion and hormonal response in the different periods of life of a woman but the molecular mechanisms are still not well understood. Amygdala is a major nucleus of the limbic system involved in the control of cardiovascular, behavior and hormonal response to stress or fear. Since variations in estrogen level are associated with cardiovascular, behavior, and hormonal response changes, we hypothesized that it could also be associated with different neuronal functions in amygdala, characterized by a differential gene expression profile. Young Female SHRs were ovariectomized (OV) and half of them received an estradiol treatment (OV+E2) for one month. We investigated whether the amygdala of ovariectomized rats exhibit gene expression differences after estradiol treatment by using microarray technique.绝经前女性较同年龄段男性具有更低的动脉压（arterial pressure, AP）、更低的交感流出以及更强的压力感受性反射。然而，绝经后女性的动脉压及后续并发的心血管疾病会显著升高。雌激素水平被认为在女性不同生命阶段的基础血压、情绪与激素应答调控中发挥作用，但其具体分子机制仍未完全阐明。杏仁核（amygdala）是边缘系统的主要核团，参与调控心血管活动、行为以及对应激或恐惧的激素应答。由于雌激素水平变化与心血管、行为及激素应答改变密切相关，我们推测其也可能与杏仁核内的神经元功能差异相关，而该差异可通过差异基因表达谱得以体现。本研究对年轻雌性自发性高血压大鼠（spontaneously hypertensive rats, SHRs）实施卵巢切除术（ovariectomized, OV），其中一半大鼠接受为期1个月的雌二醇（estradiol, E2）治疗（OV+E2）。我们采用基因芯片（microarray）技术，探究卵巢切除大鼠在接受雌二醇治疗后，其杏仁核内是否存在基因表达差异。